The UUCW Message
December 22, 2015
In This Issue

Sunday & Holiday News!


Office Notes and Flyers

 


Office Hours
(Sept 1, 2015 - 
June 30, 2016):
Mon, Tues, Wed: 
9 am - 3 pm
Thursday 9 am - 2 pm
(Closed 2nd Wednesday
Oct - May)

Gmail Users - Please note that if you stop receiving the Message, Nugget, and Weekend Reminder, check your Promotions tab in Gmail. Often, you will find that church emails are in there! Please click  HERE for more information. Please share this information with your fellow congregants if they mention they aren't getting the Message!

PLEASE NOTE: Our trash and recycling is generally picked up once a month. Please be sure to break down all cardboard boxes before putting them in the recycling dumpster so it doesn't fill up too fast!

 

Congregational Mission Statement

"The members and friends of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester covenant to be a congregation of love, hope and justice inspiring people to take on the challenges of a changing world."

  

 

Welcoming Church 

Mission Statement 

The LGBTQI and Allies of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester strives to further the affirmation and celebration of LGBTQI individuals in all aspects of the church community. We also seek to increase the visibility of UUCW as a Welcoming Congregation within the greater community.

 

 

UUCW Covenant

In consonance with the principles and purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association, we the members and friends of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester covenant to sustain and support a courageous and caring community by:

 

* Bringing our best selves to form a welcoming, loving, and inclusive community of faith;

 

* Creating an atmosphere of celebration and worship in a safe environment;

 

* Providing opportunities where diverse people and points of view are respected and where open-hearted and open-minded discussion of our differences is encouraged;

 

* Treating each other with kindness and respect;

 

* Approaching conflicts with a spirit of humility and with the respectful intent for peaceful resolution;

 

* Engaging in and encouraging spiritual and intellectual growth across the lifespan;

 

* Fostering social justice and positive transformation in our community and in the world at large;

 

* Growing and maintaining the resources necessary to support the missions and ministries of this congregation;

 

* Fostering fellowship and enjoying each other and the unique gifts that each person brings to our community.
Sunday & Holiday News!
Upcoming Holiday Services HolidayWorshipServices
 

 

   
   

Special Collection at Holiday ServicesEmergencyFund
  
During the special holiday services Dec 20 through Dec 27, members and friends of the congregation are invited to participate in our special offering project in support of the Minister's Discretionary, Emergency Fund.  This fund serves families both within our congregation and the community at large by providing needed resources such as heating oil, gas, clothing, medicine, partial rent, school supplies, etc. for those in need.  During 2015 $2888.00 was distributed from this fund. Please consider your contribution to this important ministry.  Envelopes will be handed out with Orders of Service and extras will be available in the foyer.  Thank you in advance for your generosity and compassion.


The Pageant Was Great! Hallelujah!!PageantRecap
 
Thanks to everyone who made this possible, especially to our director: Claire Breyton,  and helpers Kim Napoleone, Tom Heffernan, Maggie Hastings, Kristin Munsey! 
 
With a big hurrah to our speakers: Morgaine Payson, Cyrus Salmassi, Forrest Homan, Thalia Cohen, Lois Divoll, Alanna Keyo, Taeva Cohen, and Miya Cohen, and to Charlie Heffernan!
 
And of course, what would the pageant be without ALL of our fabulous children.  Thank you one and all for the fantastic participation and cooperation . It is truly a joyous time of year, when I get to work so closely with our fine young ones!   Until next year...Happy Holidays to ALL!
 
Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Education
Sign Up To Be Part of a Sunday Morning Worship TeamSMWT
     
Worship at UUCW is the product of many voices, hands and hearts.  Each Sunday we look forward to hearing from each other about the important happenings in our lives and the world, and our worship experience is made rich and meaningful because of the variety of voices included in it.
 
We are looking for people to become part of one of our Sunday Morning Worship Teams as a Worship Associate (WA), Worship Reader (WR) or Chalice Lighter (CL) .  WAs work with the Worship Leader to help setting up the sanctuary prior to the service. WR work with the worship leader to  read the welcome, presenting the opening words, and sometimes introduce the offertory or assist with a ritual.  CL's work with the worship leader to provide the chalice lighting for the service. You do not have to have any previous training, we'll work with anyone willing to lend their presence to this program.
 
Congregation Leaders!  Do you have a special church program, project or group that you are promoting?  Becoming part of a Worship Team on the Sunday(s) before your activity gives you a moment to introduce the congregation to your activity.  
 
New to the congregation?  This is a wonderful way to become known and to have an opportunity to introduce yourself.
 
Willing to give it a try?!  Then please visit HERE to sign up on any upcoming Sunday morning.
 
Want more information or have questions? Please do not hesitate to contact our Minister. 

HosT Coffee Hour NewsHosT
     
The HosT coffee hour team thank all the many church teams, groups, and committees who have signed up to HosT coffee hour this year!   
 
HosT (Hospitality Task Force) will provide the fair trade coffee, tea, water and juice.  (HosT depends on coffee hour donations to keep supplies in stock....your donations during any coffee hour are gladly accepted!)
 
Would you like to be involved with the HosT Team?  Let us know!!
 
 Groups on deck for HosT-ing:
December 27Members and Friends of UUCW
January 3Soup Sunday with Hospitality Team
January 10Connections Class
January 17Nursery &
Spirit Play Classes
January 24To Be Announced

Current News at UUCW

Holiday and New Year's Shopping ! 
            Our table will be in Classroom 1 on Dec 27th!



Come visit our UUA Book Fair table, a great assortment of books and gifts for everyone on your holiday list.  Fair trade products make a great gift too!!
 

Interfaith Hospitality Network Host Week
January 24 - 30, 2016 IHNNews
 
We have begun sign-ups for our host week at the Interfaith Hospitality Network, 91 June Street, Worcester.  The schedule is posted on an easel in Fellowship Hall and you are welcome to volunteer for an evening or overnight slot.  We had the opportunity to hear from a represent of the IHN Advisory Board this past Sunday describing the good work they are doing and the work ahead.  Please consider signing up by filling in your name in an open slot.  I will contact you with details or you may email me directly to sign up.  Also beginning December 27, we will begin collecting funds to be used for groceries for the week.  See me or Robin Mitzcavitch to donate or mail your check to me directly at 6 Browning Road, Shrewsbury 01545.
 
Our congregation is listed among eligible charities to receive 0.5% of the purchase price on eligible items through AmazonSmile.   When ordering items through amazon, go to smile.amazon.com, sign into your account and in the "supporting" area under the search bar, search for Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.  Items that are eligible through the AmazonSmile program will list ""Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" in their product description.  The church receives a quarterly check from AmazonSmile which becomes part of our fundraising total for the fiscal year.  
 
Touchstone Monthly Theme - 
December Theme - Generosity
January Theme - Non-Violence
December 22 - January 4 TchstnQuotes
 
Dec. 22: "Be just before you are generous." ~ E. Haywood (1745)

Dec. 23: "Give even an onion, graciously" ~ Afghan (on generosity)
 
Dec. 24: "How can I give you nothing? Do you seriously expect me to buy nothing, wrap up nothing, stick a gift tag on nothing, send a card saying I really hope you like your nothing and lie awake worrying that the nothing I got you was the right color!" ~ Hilary McKay, Caddy Ever After

Dec. 25: "Christmas Gift Suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect."
~ Oren Arnold

Dec. 26: "Minds, nevertheless, are not conquered by arms, but by love and generosity." ~ Baruch Spinoza
 
Dec. 27:  "It wasn't that he was especially ungenerous but that he put things off to give his generosity a longer and more significant route." 
~ Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March
 
Dec. 28: "Being generous often consists of simply extending a hand. That's hard to do if you are grasping tightly to your righteousness, your belief system, your superiority, your assumptions about others, your definition of normal." ~ Patti Digh, Life is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally
 
Dec. 29: "The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self." ~ Fred Rogers
 
Dec. 30: "Be a gift to everyone who enters your life, and to everyone whose life you enter. Be careful not to enter another's life if you cannot be a gift. (You can always be a gift, because you always are the gift - yet sometimes you don't let yourself know that.)" ~ Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Vol.2

Dec. 31:  "Money is but one venue for generosity. Kindness is an even more valuable currency." ~ Alan Cohen 

Jan. 1: "Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain."   Mahatma Gandhi
 
Jan. 2: "At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
 
Jan. 3: "If I am greedy, envious, violent, merely having an ideal of non-violence, of non-greed, is of little value. The understanding of what you are, whatever it is-ugly or beautiful, wicked or mischievous-... is the beginning of virtue." ~  Jiddu Krishnamurti
 
Jan. 4: "Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak... Non-violence is hard work." ~  César Chávez


Religious Education News
RE News For December 27, 2015 & January 3, 2016
RENews 



 



        Happy Holidays!         

December 27, 2015-
This is a family service.  There will be no RE, but there will be nursery care available.
 
ALL Classes resume on January 3rd.   

  
Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Education
One Church, One Book - 
Our Annual All Church ReadOneChurchOneBook 

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN was inspired by the life of an actual silverback gorilla. The real Ivan was captured in Africa when he was a baby, transported to America, and kept in a small concrete room with a single glass wall looking out into a suburban shopping mall. He lived there for twenty-seven years. During that time, Ivan was alone, except for the humans who stopped by to look at him while they shopped. In Katherine Applegate's fictionalized account of his life, Ivan's backstory is the same. But by giving Ivan some friends (a wise old elephant, a homeless dog, and a caring girl) and a compelling reason to question his imprisonment (a baby elephant added to the mall menagerie), the author lets Ivan question his fate, and eventually change it.
 
One of the reasons the RE committee  and I chose this novel for our Once Church read is that Katherine Applegate has also written a true  account of Ivan's story.  The picture book IVAN, THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas, is an excellent companion to the novel and will allow our youngest readers to participate in our churchwide celebration of reading together.
 
 Five copies of each book will be given away at coffee hour in the coming weeks, so be sure to get your name in the box each week. The raffle is free for anyone who wants to enter. 

**A note of caution to parents: some aspects of Ivan's life are difficult to read about. Most especially, perhaps, is the story of how he was captured in the jungle. Ivan tells this story in the novel, and it might be hard for some readers to hear. If you're at all concerned, you can check out this short chapter on page 170 before sharing the book with your family. For more information on the books, their reading levels, their backstories, and the author & illustrator, check out this website:http://theoneandonlyivan.com/
 
Happy reading!
   
Ongoing Event News 
Lunch With the Minister - 
Wednesday, January 6 at Noon!LunchwMinister

Join us Wednesday, January 6 at Noon for Lunch with the Minister.  Bring a bag lunch and something to share if you desire. We'll have coffee and a place set for you in the lounge.  Come join the conversation and camaraderie!  No reservation necessary.

Readers Unite Afternoon Book Club - January 6!  AftBookClub

Our selections and meeting dates for the Readers Unite Book Group on the first Wednesday of the month at 1 pm, following Lunch with the Minister.
 
Jan 6: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (Kim)
 
Read a book and join our discussion group!


Men's Group Meeting,
January 8, 7 - 9 pm, in the Lounge MensGroup 

The Men's Group meets monthly to share a meal and conversation.The group's members strive to build trust and close friendship with one another. Our next gathering will be in Fellowship Hall on Friday, 01/08/16 at 7 pm. All who consider themselves male are welcome.
 
 Food will be brought from a local restaurant and all those who wish to eat can split the cost of the meal. Please bring your favorite beverage to drink with dinner. Please R.S.V.P to willliamderr@hotmail.com or call the UUCW office at 508 853 1942. Please note whether or not you want food and any dietary restrictions.

Evening Book Club - January 13, 7 - 9 pm, Lounge  EveBookGrp

Evening Book Club Reading List:
January: The Innovators, by Walter Isaacson (Cristina Heffernan)
February: Girl in Transition, by Jean Kwok (Nancy Hancock)
March: Trapped Under the Sea, by Neil Swidey (Dianne Mann)
April: In the Heart of the Canyon, by Elisabeth Hyde (Nancy Hancock)
May: The Secret Daughter by Shilpi Gowda (Nancy Hancock)



What can we do about racism today? It is clear to us that the struggle for racial equality and justice in our country continues. Especially if we identify as White people, we need more opportunities to understand racism and explore what steps we can take to become anti-racist allies.
 
This book and movie discussion will invite us to explore race and racism in America through novels, essays, feature films and documentaries. We will explore historical moments and our present realities. We will follow themes from work to work: What is beautiful? How are dark-skinned bodies treated in America? How can racial equality be pursued and achieved? What has changed since the Civil Rights Movement, and what work remains to be done? As people of faith, what can we do?
 
Please CLICK HERE to view and download more information about this workshop series, including a schedule.

Rev. Sarah C. Stewart, Minister, First Unitarian

One of the exciting parts of the new Touchstones Ministry Themes program is the launching of Touchstones Small Group Ministry Groups.  These groups will meet regularly throughout the year to discuss the monthly themes published in the Touchstones Journal.  If you are interested in being part of a Touchstones Group, and/or becoming a leader/co-leader of one of our groups, please take a moment to fill out our short survey HERE.  We'll collect responses for the next month and hope to launch these groups in October 2015.
 
Reminder about Fundraising! Fundraising 

Please keep in mind that one of our fundraising programs is the two bins across the street in our parking lot for books and clothing.  We actually make very good money from this endeavor!  So, as you're doing your fall cleaning or whatever, please take a minute to fill the bins as well as you can!

Introducing SimpleGive!SimpleGive 

UUCW's New Online / Digital Giving Platform
 
For those of you who do your bill paying and giving online, now you can add UUCW to your list of online donations!
 
SimpleGive is an online giving platform that gives donors a variety of options to financially support the church.  Give one time or schedule giving throughout the year.  Become a registered user or give a quick donation without registering.
 
Now you can give right from your smartphone (iPhone click HERE, Android click HERE) or computer.
 
To reach the UUCW SimpleGive page click HERE.
 

Contact Information

Phone:

508-853-1942

Email:

office@uucworcester.org

 

 

Website:

www.uucworcester.org

 

Emergency Phone:

800-859-6404

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